For the first time in nearly seven years, The Toronto Varsity Blues football team can celebrate a victory - and what a victory it was.
Andrew Lomasney hit a 32-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to lift the Blues to a stunning 18-17 win over the Waterloo Warriors last night, ending Toronto's 49-game Canadian Interuniversity Sport losing streak.
The Blues hadn't won a game since beating the Windsor Lancers 13-11 on Oct. 13, 2001.
The Blues lost last year's season opener 42-17 to the Warriors, kicking off a season which saw the OUA doormats lose all eight of their games by an average of more than 29 points.
The Varsity Blues' best chance at ending the streak last season came against York, when Stephen Grochot's 36-yard field goal with 40 seconds left gave the Lions a 21-20 win.
Blues quarterback David Hamilton ignited the comeback last night. Down 17-8 with 2 minutes 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Hamilton found receiver Drew Meerveld on a 29-yard touchdown pass, and the ensuing convert cut the deficit to two.
Toronto then stopped the Warriors (0-1) with enough time to march down the field, setting up Lomasney's game-winning kick in front of 2,562 fans at Varsity Centre.
Hamilton finished 13 of 27 for 189 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the Blues (1-0), who haven't reached the playoffs since 1995.
Punter-running back Mark Stinson added a three-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a single to open the scoring late in the first.
In other CIS action yesterday, it was: Queen's 35, McMaster 11; Laurier 15, Guelph 13; and Western 35, Ottawa 31.